THE SUNBERRY 299 



fruit of most other Solanums turns black on 

 maturing. 



The berries are borne abundantly, and like 

 the tissues of the plant itself they are wholly 

 free from any poisonous qualities. The whole- 

 some nature of the plant is attested by the fact 

 that it is eaten freely by herbivorous animals 

 wherever it grows. Rabbits, cattle, pigs, and 

 poultry eat it with avidity. 



PRODUCING THE SUNBERRY 



Reference has already been made to the 

 long series of fertilizing experiments through 

 which I endeavored to cross the various 

 Solanums. 



I may add that Professor Hansen, of North 

 Dakota, has also been interested in crossing the 

 two fruiting Solanums of which we are speaking, 

 and from which the Sunberry was ultimately 

 produced. But his efforts at hybridizing these 

 species were unsuccessful. 



These details are mentioned to emphasize the 

 fact that the production of the Sunberry 

 although, as will appear in a moment, it came 

 about ultimately as the result of a single success- 

 ful experiment was by no means a task to be 

 accomplished offhand by the first person who 

 chose to place pollen of one flower on the pistil 



